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Transport support crucial for growth along Mekong
Provinces in the Mekong Delta region should give top priority to developing the transport infrastructure to revive the local agriculture-based economy, experts advise.
Although the region produces more than 50 percent of the national food output, earns 95 percent of rice export revenues and accounts for 60 percent of the national seafood export value, the living standards of local delta residents remains low.
Despite being the country’s agricultural hub, the delta sees the highest rate of poverty, child illiteracy and the number of farmers living in makeshift housing.
The root cause of this is that the socio-economic structure has not kept pace with the demand for development and improvement in living standards, say experts.
According to the Ministry of Transport, a comprehensive traffic network to transport large volumes of goods from the delta to HCM City does not yet exist, and there are no direct sea routes or air links for exports.
The rural infrastructure though significantly improved, remains underdeveloped, with many communes having no roads to access local downtown areas.
In its development plans until 2010, the Mekong Delta region has set the target of increasing the average gross domestic product by 11-12 percent annually and the per-capita income to US$900-950.
The region is endeavouring to maintain the proportion of agriculture in its economy at below 40 percent, industry at nearly 30 percent and the services sector at over 30 percent. It also aims to generate jobs for 2.5-3 million labourers and reduce the number of poor households to 11-12 percent by 2010.
To achieve the above targets, former chairman of the An Giang Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Nhi says that construction of essential infrastructure facilities, including bridges, roads, airports and ports needs to be prioritised.
Luu Phuoc Luong, deputy head of the Southwestern Steering Committee, also says that the delta provinces should focus on completing their rural transport networks, particularly in remote and mountainous areas, and establish traffic routes to link the delta with HCM City and the southeastern region.
National and provincial roads also need to be improved and the quality of human resources increased to tap into the delta’s agricultural potential effectively.
To create a breakthrough in the local economy, there is a need to quickly develop the traffic infrastructure, complete the irrigation system, build flood proof residential clusters and apply advanced technology to agricultural production, says Mr. Luong.
A well-developed transport network will enable the trade, service and tourism sectors to grow, stimulate the development of industry and handicrafts, and increase the operational effectiveness of industrial parks and export processing zones, he stresses.
It will also draw more investment, especially from overseas, into areas with potential in the delta, including biotechnology, post-harvest technology, food and foodstuffs processing, information technology, engineering, manufacturing, and agricultural engineering, he added.
VOVNews, VNS
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